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Updated on
February 21, 2013,
M.P.
asks from Greenville, SC
on
January 03, 2012

My Daughter Has a Mustache

My daughter has a mustache and she's only 7. She's always been a very hairy child, but it has gotten worse, especially on her upper lip. I don't know if I should address this before she starts getting teased (she's already been teased for her "unibrow"). I wouldn't even know HOW to address it. No way I'm waxing my child, no matter what. Should I get ahead of this before it becomes a problem? The unibrow comments really hurt her feelings.

*sigh* Help me, mommas, I'm at a loss on this one.

EDIT: since so many people have asked, I'll share why I'm opposed to waxing. Because it hurts, and she doesn't want it (I've asked). My daughter knows I get my brows waxed, and she's watched me do it, and she's seen other little girls do it on Toddlers and Tiaras. After the unibrow comments, I asked her if she wanted to try it and she said NO. Trying to foist a painful procedure on a little girl to fix a cosmetic problem she doesn't even know she has...surely that cannot be the right answer.

Featured Answers

D.B.
answers from Charlotte
on
January 03, 2012

Go to a dermatologist that has an esthetician who does laser hair removal. Have the dermatologist look at her skin and determine if laser therapy is okay for a child her age. Then have them do it. Don't go to a spa - the doctor in the office is best for this.

If the dermatologist says she should be older, ask about waxing. They can do that there instead. I wouldn't try home waxing either - no way~ My younger son's unibrow was waxed from the time he was 12. I've been giving him laser for the past few months to totally get rid of his unibrow. He really appreciates it...

I am glad that you are willing to help her. I always wonder why some moms dont. There has been a girl or two teased for this in my kids classes. They dont have to be teased if their mothers would help them :( I hope you find a solution that works for you both.

Go to a dermatologist that has an esthetician who does laser hair removal. Have the dermatologist look at her skin and determine if laser therapy is okay for a child her age. Then have them do it. Don't go to a spa - the doctor in the office is best for this.

If the dermatologist says she should be older, ask about waxing. They can do that there instead. I wouldn't try home waxing either - no way~ My younger son's unibrow was waxed from the time he was 12. I've been giving him laser for the past few months to totally get rid of his unibrow. He really appreciates it...

I would wax it. That hurts a lot less than being teased. Aside from removing the problem there is nothing you can do. It is, I am sorry to say, something kids will pick on other kids for. You can tell the school to protect her but that will cause her to be teased for that.

Sorry my daughter is a bit on the hairy side too. Thankfully she is also olive skinned so you don't really notice it as much since her hair is so fine. Still in a couple more years she will have to wax because she won't have that fine little kid hair and it will show.

Your daughter may have a hormone imbalance and could be going thru early puberty. Have her checked out by your doctor.

As for her excessive facial hair, I heard on NPR that if you start waxing unwanted hair before 12, you will stunt the growth of the hair in that area FOR LIFE! So you would be doing her a favor by doing it early so that it won't be as thick for the rest of her life. She will thank you for that. Think about it, if you are doing it, she will do it eventually. What woman wants to have a unibrow or hairy upper lip? In middle school they will tease her. Girls are cruel, like it or not, it is what it is. All you are doing is postponing the inevidiable. Please don't send her to school like that at her age.

Research studies have proven that if you do it early it won't be as bad later. But once you miss that window of opportunity, it is gone forever. If she is hairy at 7, imagine what she will look like at 16.

I worked with a summer intern that was 20 YO and she had a beard, mustash and the hairyist arms I have ever seen on a woman. I was shocked!

You are not entering your daughter into a beauty contest you are trying to spare her a life of shaving her face. Sure it will hurt, but she will have to endure all kinds of agony for the sake of womanly beauty. We all do. Yes we want all girls to love the body they have. We fix crooked teeth and fix lazy eyes. If the facial hair is too much, wax it off.

I agree with Rosebud. Take her to a good place and have her eyebrows and upper lip waxed. If she has darker hair and a lot of it, this will be a fact of life for her, no way around it. If you go to a place like European Waxing Center, they use high-quality wax (which means it will not hurt as much, since it only sticks to hair and not skin), and it's such a quick process. Why make her suffer like this when there is an easy and inexpensive solution?

Jo is right, waxing hurts less than teasing. There are several ways to remove facial hair and I certainly think that you are right to get ahead of it before it becomes MORE of a problem.

Bleaching can be very hard on a child's skin, Nair can cause major irritation. Laser hair removal is ideal, if you are willing to pay the price. And absolutely DO go to a dermatologist for a consult- that was excellent advice! Otherwise, waxing isn't bad. You can do it at home if you like.

because she is under puberty and starting with issues already start with her family doctor and if she is healthy. Pituitary gland and thyroid gland and all hormone levels check out then ask for a dermotologist referral to someone who has peds experience. Please don't have cosmetic procedures such as bleaching and waxing done without the medical assist. If there are health issues they need to be addressed as it may not just be hair it could be pcos or pititary tumor or something else that if treated early could be fixed. If it's nothing then you know you have done your Mom job.

I'm a hairstylist and we see young girls all the time with facial hair. The best way to approach it is to not make a big deal out of it at all. Just say, "Hey sweetie, I have to tweeze my eyebrows and get rid of some facial hair, and we are going to have a lot of fun together learninghow to do it. Let's go get a trimmer/see a stylist..." Then, go take car of it and get her an ice cream cone. No biggie.

I am glad that you are willing to help her. I always wonder why some moms dont. There has been a girl or two teased for this in my kids classes. They dont have to be teased if their mothers would help them :( I hope you find a solution that works for you both.

I've had this problem also.... and was teased so much as a kid :(
I'm now 40 and have had 4 laser treatments! and let me tell ya I love it, it didn't hurt at all (I was told it would). I looked online for a plastic surgery office that also had special then looked on YELP.com to read reviews.

I asked the nurse who does my treatments how old you have to be to get treatments she thought the age was 13. I really would look into something for her.

I had a dark fuzz growing up and my mom bleached it for me. Depending on her skin tone it may be an option for her.

If she is getting teased about her eyebrows, she is probably getting teased about her mustache as well. I would ask her what she wants to do. It is not nice to get teased about these things especially at such a young age. I feel for you mama and for your girl.

I have to disagree with Barb, a 7-year old is not going through puberty. If you do go to the doctor and they check her hormone levels, and that is determined, it would be labeled as "precocious puberty", meaning AHEAD of schedule. 7 year olds are not "under puberty". Way to freak the mom out... ugh.

Anyway, once you determine that perhaps this is just part of her chemical makeup, and you talk to her and gauge her feelings about it, you will have a better idea how to proceed. There are lots of products on the market you can use now for bleaching or waxing at home. I know you are against that, and you have to do what is right for you, but take it from someone who was teased mercilessly for the same thing - it can really hurt a kid's self-esteem to hear that kind of taunting over and over at such a young age. My mother did teach me that there are options to address this issue... it's all how you approach it. If you make her feel like she isn't good enough as is and HAS to wax or bleach to be accepted, that's one thing. But if you approach it from the angle of, hey, we can do something simple to make you feel more confident and better about yourself, because you aren't feeling so great right now, that is another thing altogether. My guess is that the teasing bothers her; kids can be cruel. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Hello :) I am a young girl who has had this problem. I don't want to reveal my age but I am an adolescence. I have a unibrow and a mustache and so many kids made fun of me for it in elementary school. Trust me, it feels terrible feeling insecure just because of a bit of facial hair. I get my eyebrows and upper lip waxed almost every week because of it. Sure, it hurts. But that was my choice and I actually feel so much better because of my decision. I am encouraging to force your daughter to, it is you and your daughter's choice. I'd recommend a possible natural way to remove hair if waxing is ABSOLUTELY out of the picture. Thank you, hoped this helped!

Before you touch a hair on your daughter's face please see a dermatalogist that has many children for patients. Definitely don't wax. I know of several women who have waxed their face and now they are fighting and even greater battle against the hair and the hair is winning.

Like the other moms say, go to your doctor. She's still very young and still changing, you might ask to have her hormone levels checked, but they may be wanky due to her age.

I grew up dark and fuzzy. I developed a thick skin, "Yah, you're rude!" "A shame your mother doesn't love you enough to teach you manners!" I began shaving early and became a fan of jeans. I also bleach my upper lip, I have since junior high.

Agreed, discuss with a pediatrician and/or a dermatologist about whether this is normal (not some sort of homone issue) and for advice on how to control it. I wouldn't dismiss waxing or laser treatments or electrolysis even as it is a issue she will likely always have. But I wouldn't touch her until you know the implications of each treatment on her skin and the longterm hair growth.

In general, however, you might want to give some careful thought to how to handle the topic with her. There is a fine line between teaching grooming and getting her worried about her appearence. You need to come at it from a place of you are beautiful but if it worries you I can see about how we could make it less noticable. I think you have to give her some control here and make it clear this is a choice for her and not one for her peers or even you.

I have a 7 year old girl too. She will be a teen who has to shave a lot. Fair skin, but lots of dark Italian hair. I will wait until it is an issue for her, and then I suspect we will see a dermatologist too.